Factors Influencing Comprehension of Informed Consent: Appearance, Time Stress and Voice Presentation

People are commonly asked to sign forms intended to serve as contracts or formalized agreements. Although it is prudent to read these forms carefully before signing, people sometimes do not do so. Failure to read an agreement would presumably be reflected in lack of subsequent comprehension of its content. This experiment examined three factors that might influence comprehension of one type of formal agreement: an informed consent form for research participation. Three factors were examined: (a) appearance, (b) time pressure, and (c) oral presentation. A subsequent comprehension test showed that knowledge of the consent form was greater when: (a) the form appeared more informal as compared to more official-looking, (b) there was less time pressure compared to greater time stress, and (c) the consent form was accompanied by an oral presentation of its contents. The results have implications for the validity of informed consent and other kinds of contract agreements